Dreams
by DragonFairy93
Summary: "They say, 'A dream is a wish your heart makes'. If that's true, then I have a very messed up heart." ((CURRENTLY ON HIATUS))
1. Chapter 1

_**I'm walking through a forest looking for someone. I don't know how ,but I know that when I reach the end of this forest, I will be one step closer to finding someone. Someone that's good at making me laugh. Someone that knows how to make me feel safe. Someone that's always there to catch me when I fall. Someone that knows how to read me like an open book. Someone that's an expert at making me furious at them, but quick in forgiving them. Someone that completes the other half of me. Someone that... loves me.**_

_** This someone I'm looking for loves me and, somehow, I love them. I'm curious to know how I know this. When I try thinking of someone who fits the description, my mind comes up a blank. How can I love this person and not know what they look like? Or not know how I came to know them? Or even, know who they are? My mind is so filled with these questions that I don't have the space to think of where to walk next or what direction to take. My brain is not what's directing me through this forest now, my heart is.**_

_** My heart is taking me to the end of this forest and closer to the one I love. My someone. While it seems that my mind doesn't know who my someone is, my heart knows them very well. It knows what their genuine smile looks like when they see me walking their way. It knows how their hearty laugh sounds when they witness another act of my clumsiness. It knows when I look in their eyes, I get lost for what seems like days. It knows that the softness of their hair is why I love running my fingers through it all the time. It knows that my small, smooth hands and their big, calloused hands fit together like pieces of a puzzle. It also knows that their lips leave a warmth, that spreads throughout my body, wherever they touch. My heart knows all this about the someone I'm looking for and won't give any of this information to my brain. **_

_** If my heart and brain would work together, we could figure out my mysterious someone. But my heart is keeping all this information a secret from my mind; And when my brain gets too close to getting the information locked away, my heart tricks it. It says not to worry about something so small when there are bigger things to think about. My brain then agrees and forgets about the secret for a while. A heart is a very tricky thing to try and figure out. While my heart and brain are having a tug-of-war with information, I see a bright light coming close to me. **_

_** I squint my eyes to see better and notice that the light is not coming closer to me, but I am nearing the end of the dim forest. Pushing through a few more branches and crunching smaller piles of leaves under my feet, I finally reach the end of the forest. As I step out, the first thing I notice is how bright and blue the sky is. The next thing to come to my attention is the ground. The ground is a luscious meadow of wildflowers and dandelions with soft, green grass to walk on. I look closely at the grass and notice two pale things standing in it. I reach for them and notice two more pale things in my sight. I then blink a few times and my view becomes clear; I'm looking at my bare hands and feet. I giggle at myself as I then look at the rest of me; I'm wearing what seems to be a long ,white, flowy dress that reaches my ankles and silky, loose sleeves that reach my elbow. I reach up and touch my head and pull my shoulder length hair to see the color:blonde. I then look back up to the area I have come into. It is a clearing with one big, beautiful tree in the middle. A cherry blossom tree. My favorite tree my heart tells me. It also tells me to run as fast as I can to this tree, for someone is waiting at the tree for me. My someone.**_

_** Filled with so much joy and happiness at seeing my someone, I sprint as fast as I can to the tree. With only the tree in my sight, everything else becomes a blur as I race forward. Faster, faster, faster... There's no telling how long my someone has waited for me to arrive. I will finally get to see their face and feel their warmth after so long. Nearer, nearer, nearer... Almost there. I can see cherry blossom petals falling in front of me as I get closer to the tree. Closer, closer, closer... Touch. I finally touch the tree, the meeting place of my someone and myself. Panting, trying to catch my breath while leaning on the tree for support, I can't help but think one thing: I finally made it.**_

_** With my hand still resting on the base of the tree, I walk slowly around it. A red and white checkered blanket then appear in my view, along with a brown basket and containers of food. Still slowly walking, I then notice two plates, with forks and spoons in the center of them, sitting next to each other on the blanket and a clear, glass vase with one, single rose in it. I stand there in awe taking in the scene of the picnic laid out in the shade near the base of the cherry blossom tree. As I kneel on to the blanket, next to one of the plates on the right side, one word escapes my lips,"...Beautiful...". **_

_** While still taking in the scene, I almost fail to notice a plate hovering near my view on the left. I look to the left and notice it was a plate of fish with a hand on each side. Smiling at the generous gesture of the person who offered fish, my breath catches in my throat and my eyes go wide. My heart tells me that those hands belong to someone. My someone. The one someone who I was so eager and happy to meet. The one someone who knows me as well as I do them. The one someone who loves me unconditionally. My heart is telling me that that one someone who it lead me to, is now sitting to the left of me holding a plate of fish in front of my face. I can't believe that I'm here as well as my someone. Is my heart finally going to give my mind some peace and let me get a glimpse of my special, mysterious someone? Is my heart going to give up this game with my mind once and for all?**_

_** Sweating profusely from nervousness, I close my eyes tight and swallow that lump in my throat. Encouraging myself with little phrases of,"You can do this. You can do this. Just open your eyes and look at their face. Not so hard.", and ,"Come on, Stupid! You've waited a long time to do this! Don't close your eyes and chicken out now! Do it!" in my mind, my heart then tells me that my someone is about to call my name to get my attention. My mind stops working. Tricky heart. My someone is going to call My name. I can't wait to hear my name roll off their tongue and finally hear their voice. I open my eyes halfway, noticing the plate of fish is still in my face, and slowly start to look up towards their face. Here it comes, my heart tells me, someone is fixing to say it. My name out of their mouth. My name, Lucy. My eyes reach their collarbone when I notice their chest rise to take a breath to speak. Gulping one last time, I finally reach their chin and part of their bottom lip. Their lip moves, pulling it from my view, and forms the starting sound of my name, 'Loo'. I start to hear their voice, my someone's voice, come out of their mouth speaking my name. "L-EEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"**_

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!", I scream as I sit up and snap my eyes open. I whip my head towards the direction of the loud, horrible sound. My alarm clock. My beeping alarm clock that read 8:20 a.m.. Glaring at the evil little contraption on my nightstand, I yank it up and throw it as hard as I can at the wall, shattering it to pieces. Laying back down in my bed with a thud and a loud groan, I stare up at my morning lit room's ceiling. "I was finally gonna hear his voice!", I whine. I then glare at my ceiling, "It wouldn't be THAT big of a deal if I hadn't been having that same stupid dream everyday this week! Then that stupid alarm clock just had to ruin it... AGAIN!", I yell. Turning over on my side and looking at the wall underneath my window, I sigh and whine once more,"That was the closest I had ever gotten in ANY of my dreams".

Taking in a deep breath and letting out an exasperated sigh, I rub the sleep out of my eyes and throw the covers off me to get out of bed. I set my bare feet on the warm floor in my bedroom and head towards my bathroom to get a shower before eating breakfast. I pass the spot on the floor where what used to be my alarm clock is, "Serves it right. Disturbing a girl's dreams. Ugh! Now I gotta get another clock". Grabbing a towel and some clothes on the way, I close and LOCK the bathroom door (so a certain pink haired friend and a blue talking cat won't barge in on me...again). I turn the hot and cold knobs in my shower and wait for the water to get just right before stepping in. I undress myself and finally step into the shower to wash away another stressful night.

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><p><span><strong>Author's Note: <strong>** Hello! I would love it if you would please tell me what you thought of this and IF YOU think I should continue with it.**

**I'm ALWAYS up for tips, ideas, corrections, etc., So just let me know what you think. Thanks so much ahead of time!**

**- DragonFairy93**


	2. Chapter 2

Letting out another big sigh as the hot water runs down my body, I start washing my hair and wonder, 'Why do I keep having this dream? My dream first happened on the night of June 23... And now it's the morning of June 27. Four nights of the same dream plaguing my mind and I still don't have the faintest idea of who my mystery someone is. What does this dream actually mean? Am I going to be wandering around aimlessly through a forest one day and stumble upon a picnic scene where the love of my life waits for me? If so, does this mean I'm close to finally meeting him? Maybe I need to be looking for him in a forest? Oh, and why a plate of fish? Why not something more delectable, like a plate of strawberry cheesecake? Or spaghetti? Or a bowl of yogurt? Who does my special someone think I am? Happy?! Wait... Since Happy is alway offering fish to Carla... And in my dream that's what my someone offered me... Does that mean... HAPPY is my special someone?! NO! I distinctly remember HANDS... HUMAN HANDS holding the plate, not tiny, little, blue paws. Phew! But wait... Does this mean that my someone really likes fish? Do I need to pay more attention to people that love to eat seafood? Or...', So many questions. So many possibilities. So many headaches... Ugh. Anyway, no reason to think of it now when I'm trying to relax in my steamy, hot shower. Just like a spa, I'm scrubbing my troubles away. Finally stress free and clean, I step out, dry myself off, and get dressed.

I decide to wear one of my favorite outfits today. A light blue tank top and knee-length jean shorts with light blue flip-flops to match. Blue and pink are my two favorite colors, so after I dry my hair I'm going to put it in a high ponytail with a pink ribbon (to match my Fairy Tail guild mark on my right hand.). After brushing my hair out, I grab the hair dryer and start to dry my hair. Halfway through, I hear a loud 'thump' outside my door. More specifically, my bedroom. There are three possibilities of "Who" is in my bedroom at this time. One: A really, really stupid robber. You know, the kind that try to rob you blind in the middle of the day with no mask on and a water gun? Yeah, knowing my luck, very possible. Two: My special someone. Who has decided to show themselves to me so we can finally get together and live out my childhood fairy tale dream in a nice house with thirty-three babies. (I've been around Juvia too long...). With my luck lately, that's a very high possible NO. Three: Natsu and/or Happy. Breaking in at all times of the day and doing as they please in my house. Knowing this, they're here to prank me or beg me for food. (With it being Sunday morning, a day off from job requests... More than likely both). Possibility of it being those two, very, very, high.

Unlocking my bathroom door and opening it wide enough to see down the hallway, I see that the coast is clear. I open the door wider and step as quietly as possible out of the bathroom and press my back to wall. (Sigh... I have been around Natsu and his crazy ninja obsession for far too long.) Sliding slowly down the hallway, I reach the doorway that leads to my bedroom and lean forward to peek in. And to my surprise, I find... no one. No stupid robber. No handsome stranger that's possibly my soul mate. No Natsu and Happy. Absolutely no one. With a sigh of relief, I turn around to go finish my hair without further interruptions.

With my hair done, light make up on, and tropical body spray all over me, I walk out the bathroom to get some breakfast. I pass my bedroom on the way to the kitchen and stop for a moment to take another peek. Still nobody. Good. I keep walking until I notice the kitchen door halfway open. Strange... I always close and lock the kitchen door to keep Nats-... Wait a minute. There's absolutely no way he's in my kitchen right now. I locked it! I also lock my window and my front door and he still manages to break in somehow. I ease towards the door praying this might be a mistake of mine and not the work of my pyromaniac best friend. Maybe I accidentally left it unlocked last night after eating some yogurt? Maybe I was so preoccupied with reading my newest book, I left it open? Maybe I was so sleepy last night, that I don't remember getting up to get a drink of water? After countless thoughts, I steeled my nerves, ready to confront whoever is in my kitchen. Hopefully, it's not Natsu. It's not that I mind his company... I just wanna keep the food I have IN my kitchen. I poke my head in quickly to catch... nobody... again. "What is going on?", I wonder aloud.

I walk in the kitchen to inspect and see if anything is amiss. Cabinets... Still full. Table and counters... No crumbs. Trashcan... Empty. Fruit bowl... Still fruity. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. My eyes then land on the refrigerator. If anything's missing, it'll be in the fridge. I walk over and open the fridge to test my hunch. Let's see... Uuuuummmmmm... Nope. Nothing missing or out-of-place in here either.

"Maybe the door open and the sound in my room are just coincidental and I'm just imagining someone being in my house... Yeah. That's it. No big deal." I feel better now. Now, Breakfast Time! I gather the necessary cookware and ingredients for an omelet when I "feel" someone watching me. I'm just being paranoid right now. Like I said there's no one in my house and everything is just coincidence. I'm going to turn around and, like the two other times before, find absolutely nobody there. I'll prove it. Feeling very confident, I turn around and look at the kitchen door to find... nobody there... yet again. I turn back around to the counter to finish preparing my omelet. See? I knew that when I turned around I wouldn- "HIYA, LUCY!" A little voice yelled loudly above my head. I screamed as I fell backwards looking up to the flying perpetrator with wide eyes. As I sit there with a shocked expression on my face, a little blue cat starts laughing at me. What just happened?

"How di-... I just-... No one w-... And you-..." My mind, along with my heart, is working so fast, I can't think straight. That's what getting scared to death and coming back to life does to you. Happy stops laughing as he notices that I haven't moved since I fell. Well, my mouth is moving, but words aren't coming out right.

Happy's expression goes from being jovial to worried. "Are you okay, Lucy?! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!", Happy shrieks at me. "I mean... I meant to scare you... Just not so bad that you'd fall and break your brain! Oh no! What do I do now?!", He continues freaking out as I'm still petrified on the floor. Happy then cries out for his partner in crime, "NATSU! HELP!".

Natsu then runs in my kitchen as fast as lightning from hearing Happy scream his name. "What is it, Little Buddy?! What happened?! Where's Lucy?!", Natsu yells almost as frantically as Happy. Happy then points down at me from his position in the air and cries, "I came in here to scare Lucy, just like you told me to! And when I scared her, she screamed and fell on the floor! Now her-".

"Uhh... Happy? How's that different from all the other times we've scared her?", Natsu replied as he crossed his arms, tilted his head, and raised an eyebrow at the sobbing ball of fur.

Happy threw his paws in the air and yelled, "GEEZ, NATSU! Haven't you noticed she isn't chasing us or hitting us like she usually does after we scare her?!".

Natsu purses his lips and scrunches up his eyebrows. His thinking face... Don't see that very often, if ever. He then snaps his fingers. "Oh Yeah! That's right!", Natsu shouts as he suddenly remembers the many painful memories.

Happy then sulks as he hovers in the air by Natsu's head, "Wow, Natsu... I knew you were dumb, but I didn't think you were this dumb... You're as dumb as a hollow rock... No, you're even dumber than that. You're as dumb as a brainless fish... No, y-", Happy wasn't able to finish his rant of never-ending insults as he got cut off by a pouting Natsu. "Geez, Happy... Just 'cuz I don't remember something like that, doesn't mean I'm stupid, y'know?".

Happy then looked at Natsu with a horrified face.

"What?!", Natsu yelled at the cat that looked like he just saw a ghost.

"Oh no, Natsu! It's worse than I thought! I never thought in a million years I would ever, EVER have to say this!", Happy cried to Natsu.

"What?! Say What?!", Natsu yelled.

"Natsu... It pains me to tell you this... but," Happy then sobs uncontrollably, "You're even dumber than Gray!"

It was Natsu's turn to wear the horrified expression on his face. "WHAT?! DON'T SAY THAT! I'M NOWHERE NEAR AS DUMB AS THAT FROZEN JELLYBEAN! HOW COULD YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO ME?! I'LL SHOW YOU I'M NOT-"

While Happy was demeaning Natsu, my heart and mind slowed back down and I was able to get back to normal.

"Natsu! Will you please lower the volume a little?!", I say loudly as I stand back up, glaring at Natsu. Ugh... Now I've got a headache thanks to Natsu's loud mouth.

"LUCY! YOU'RE OKAY! NO THANKS TO STUPID NATSU!", Happy exclaims as he flies into my chest to give me one his tightest little hugs. Happy can be so cute and so insulting at the same time. It's like he has a gift for it or something.

"AM NOT! LUCY, TELL HI- Oh, Lucy! What're you doing here?", Natsu asks as he just NOW notices I'm right in front of him... In MY house... In MY kitchen... Wow... I'm- I'm not gonna comment on that. No need to make a headache worse, right?

"Natsu! She was here the whole time! Remember?! I scared her and her brain stopped working when she fell to the floor?!", Happy yells at Natsu from his spot in my arms.

"You never said her brain stopped working!", He argues back at Happy.

"That's because YOUR brain stopped working before I could tell you!", Happy retorts as he jumps from my arms and flies closer to Natsu's face.

Sigh... In the midst of their stupid argument, they've forgotten me again, Typical.

"My brain didn't stop working! It was MY brain that came up with the plan to scare her! It's YOUR brain that listened wrong and made you mess up our prank on Lucy!"

"You listen with your EARS, Natsu! Not your BRAIN! How could you get THAT wrong?!", Happy corrected Natsu.

"Well... it's YOUR fault that you messed up the prank!"

"MY FAULT?!"

"Yeah! YOUR fault!"

Sigh... I'm getting tired of this. I've gotta think of a way to make them shut up, but they're arguing so loud. It's making it very hard for me to think. Come on, Lucy! Think! What is the one thing that'll make them- 'grrrroooowwl'. I look down and find the answer to my dilemma. Perfect. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

"Hey! Who's Hungry?", I ask the two boys in front of me (Well, boy and cat...).

Natsu and Happy stop arguing and look directly at me. Natsu crosses his arms and eyes me weirdly. What's his deal?

"Are YOU cooking?", He asks me as he leans in closer to me with a serious expression on his face.

"Y-Y-Yeah?!", I stutter out as Natsu keeps leaning in closer. I'm sure there's a healthy shade of pink on my cheeks now from his nearness. Why is he so close?

"What are you cooking?", He asks as he finally stops... four inches from my face.

I close my eyes tight. I can't handle this closeness. "O-Omelets! I-If that's ok-kay with you!"

I open one eye slightly and notice he's back to his original stance. I open both eyes and relax. Sigh... He can be so weird sometimes.

With a big smile on his face, he replies, "Heck yeah that's okay with me! Just be sure to put-"

"Put five Nippon Taka Peppers in it?" I smile as I finish his special food request. I grab the jar of peppers out of the cabinet and wave it back and forth in front of him.

He smiles even bigger and chuckles, "Yep! You know me so well, Luce!"

As I'm cooking the extremely spicy omelets for my best (guy) friend, I can't help but think, 'There's never a dull moment when those two enter my home'.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: HIYA Readers! Thank you so much for reading this! I would really like it if you would review and tell me what you thought about this chapter. Also Let me know if YOU think I should continue with this story.<strong>

**Like I said, I'm always up for tips, hints, ideas, corrections, etc. **

**PM me and I'll try and reply to you (Just ask SnowFairyPrincess... LOL) **

**Please recommend, review, and/or follow my story. ****I'll try to not let you down.**

**Thanks again!**

**-DragonFairy93**


	3. Chapter 3

While I'm cooking the tongue-zapping omelets, my thoughts are interrupted by a sniffling Happy on the counter. I look over at the sad little cat and think, 'He must think I forgot about him'. I cover my mouth to hold back my giggles.

"Oh, Happy... I think I have some of those fish you and Natsu caught the other day still in my freezer", I say as I glance at the pouting cat while keeping my focus on the stove.

Happy looks up at me with teary eyes, "You do, Lucy?"

I nod my head and smile at him. Happy cheers then jumps up from the counter and flies towards the freezer to get his breakfast while chanting, "Fishy, fishy, yummy fishy!"

Natsu then walks over to where I am and leans back on the counter by the stove and crosses his arms. Is it just me or is Natsu staring at me? I take a quick glance to the right and look back with my face feeling warm. Yep, he's staring at me... with an amused smile on his face. Wonder why?

"Uuummm... Natsu? W-What are y-y-you doing?", I sputter out to him.

"Staring at you...", He replies by smiling bigger at me.

"Why?"

"To make you feel weird!", He chortles. "Is it working?"

"No." I smirk at him, "You're gonna have to try harder than that."

My eyes widen at the realization of what I just said. Oh, crap! Why did I just say that?! There's no telling what he's gonna do now! I look back at Natsu to see he's contemplating WHAT to do to me since staring didn't work.

He snaps his fingers and smirks at me. Gulp... What's going on in that messed up brain of his?

He then leans off the counter and walks out of the kitchen.

Wait... I thought he was going to do something to me?

I mean... I'm glad he's NOT doing anything to me, but... Something's off... He doesn't just leave right after someone challenges him. He wouldn't have walked off if Gray or Erza had challenged him. So what's different? Why di-

Warm arms encircling my waist and a head on my right shoulder disrupts my thoughts on the matter.

I stiffen up like a statue as my breath gets captured in my throat. My heartbeat accelerates at an unbearable speed, but at the same time it feels wonderful. I get a light feeling in my stomach as if a million butterflies just hatched from their cocoons and are trying out their wings.

'Who's making me feel this way?' I angle my head in a way to catch a glimpse of the culprit who has me in their clutches. First thing to come into my view is a few spiky strands of pink hair.

...Pink?

"N-N-Natsu?", I badly stutter out, feeling my face become a blazing mess.

"Yeah, Luce?", He breathes out on my neck sending goosebumps everywhere on my body.

"W-W-What are you d-d-doing?"

"Nothing...", He answers as I feel him nuzzle my neck and take a deep breath in.

I think my goosebumps have goosebumps now...

The tip of his nose trails slowly up my neck and stops in my hair with his mouth right by my ear. I can't help but shiver at the motion.

"Just watching you burn that omelet.", He whispers in my ear as he chuckles lightly.

Oh, Crap! I forgot about the omelet! I take the spatula and quickly lift and place the burnt mess into a plate stacked with multiple fluffy omelets. Sigh... Well, that ruins a perfect looking breakfast.

I reach over and turn off the stove. I turn to pick up the plate of omelets and remember that something is preventing me from doing that.

"Hey, Luce?"

Or someone...

"I'm just curious," He asks me as his head is turned to get a good view of my crimson colored face, "How are you feeling right now?"

"What d-d-do you m-mean?", I ask as I try and turn my head away... Key word: Try.

He lets go of my waist with his left hand, reaches over my shoulder, grabs my face, and turns it back to his smirking one.

"Are you feeling maybe, a little, Oh... I don't know... Weird?", He asks with a smug look on his face.

My mouth drops as I gawk at the trickster that's holding my face.

That little devil! He did ALL THAT just to make me feel... weird? THAT'S what he came up with before he left the kitchen? Wait... Where DID he go when he left?

"Uuumm.. N-Natsu? Where did you go after you walked out of my kitchen while ago?"

Keeping the smug look on his face, he leans in closer to mine, "Answer my question and I'll answer yours".

"Uh- Uh- Uuumm... Okay. Y-Yeah... I d-do f-f-feel a little w-weird." I barely stammer out as he stops within inches of our noses touching. I close my eyes tight as I feel his hot breaths on my face. "N-Now where d-d-did you g-go?"

"You really wanna know?", He asks, not moving any closer or further from my face.

I nod my head quickly.

He lets go of my face and waist while veering towards my ear.

He then says with a loud whisper and a couple of escaped giggles, "The Bathroom!"

I snap open my eyes and state with disbelief, "The Bathroom?!"

Natsu then falls over on the floor, clutching his stomach as if it's going to pop, while laughing his heart out.

"Oh, Luce! You shoulda seen your face! It was redder than Erza's hair!", Natsu chokes out during his howls of childish laughter on the floor.

I stare at Natsu with wide eyes.

What just happened? Where did INNOCENT Natsu go? How was he able to know that ALL the stuff he did to me would get a reaction? Is that the 'weird' reaction he wanted? Most of all, WHO taught him how to do that?

THAT was not the Natsu I met in Hargeon five years ago. (Twelve if you count Tenrou Island's Seven Year Gap. Wow... Twelve years...)

Taking in a deep breath to ease the blush off my face, I exhale and wait out his marathon of laughs.

He's finally done as he stands back up with a big smile on his face.

"YES! I got Lucy to feel weird AND admit it!", He shouts with a victorious pose.

"Natsu, we knew Lucy was weird the moment we saw her in Hargeon!", a little voice snickers from behind me.

Happy... How long has he been back there?

"Shut it, Cat", I quip back at Happy.

"Natsu, what'd you do to Lucy to get her face redder than Erza's hair? Did you paint her face with red paint?", Happy asks as he flies in between me and Natsu.

I pick up the plate of spicy omelets and head towards the table.

"Nah, Little Buddy, I didn't paint her face.", Natsu happily answers him back while chuckling.

I place the plate of food on the table and turn to get some utensils for Natsu to use. I take a quick glance of Natsu on the way. My blush returns a little as I recall what he did to me when Happy left the room. It was definitely NOT painting my face... At least, not with a paintbrush...

I just hope Happy doesn't notice me blushing...

I grab the necessary utensils and turn around only to be met with a smirking Happy giggling in front of me.

"Or were you and Lucy getting all Lovey-Dovey while I was out of the room?"

My face then ignites in flames. CRAP! Blush, Go Down!

"Oooooh! Scandalous! I knew it!", Happy shouts in a sing-songy voice.

"We were NOT being L-L-Lovey-Dovey, You Stupid Cat!", I shout at the giggling cat flying around my head.

"That's not what your cheeks say, Lucy!", Happy snickers while pointing at my flaming cheeks.

I swat the giggling ball of fur away from my cheeks as he flies up and lands on my head.

I look up glaring at the snickering cat on my head.

'He better not say anything else... '.

"Sooo... Lucy," He starts off putting a paw in front of his mouth to, apparently, hold back giggles. "When's the wedding?"

That did it!

"HAPPY!", I scream as I chase him around my kitchen. "GET OVER HERE, YOU STUPID FELINE, SO I CAN RIP YOUR LIPS OFF!"

"WAAAH! NATSU SAVE ME! LUCY'S GONNA TURN ME INTO A GIRL!"

Our little game of cat and mouse (or in this case: Girl and Cat) continues while I hear Natsu's laughter in the background.

"Oh, man! I never get tired of that!", Natsu says while shaking his head back and forth and chuckling.

He then gets a curious look on his face. "Hey, Happy? Didn't you say something about a getting a surprise or something for Carla this morning?"

As Happy paused in mid-flight with a shocked expression on his face, I prop myself up on my knees to catch my breath. Wow... I need to train more or something!

"Oh, No! I totally forgot! Oh, Carla, My White-Haired Beauty! Please forgive me!", Happy wails while panicking on Natsu's shoulder. "Natsu! What am I gonna do?!".

Natsu closes his eyes and crosses his arms in deep thought. "Hmmmm..."

He then snaps his eyes open and smiles at Happy, "I got it! Why don't you just give her some of those fish we caught? They were really tasty, weren't they? How about that?"

Happy's face lightens up dramatically as he hugs Natsu's neck tightly. "Wow, Natsu! That's the greatest idea ever!"

Happy then flies off to my freezer to get his fish, flying back quickly through my kitchen and closer to the door.

"Bye, Natsu! Bye, Lucy!", Happy hurriedly shouts back at us over his shoulder.

"Wait! Where are you hurrying off to?", Nastsu calls after Happy.

"I gotta hurry and give Carla a fish before Lilly does!... And before I forget again!", He answers back as he disappears out the door heading towards the guild.

Natsu and I laugh at Happy's way of thinking. So simple and cute...

"Oh, yeah! Before I go... You two llllloooovvee each other!", And he's gone again.

I take back the cute comment I made. He's simple and IRRITATING!

I let out a big sigh as I shake my head and walk to the fruit bowl to get an apple. I glance over at Natsu and notice he's... gone? Where'd he go this time?

I look around and find him sitting at the table, using a simple flame to warm his food back up. 'Neat... wish I could do that...' I walk over to sit by Natsu when I realize I forgot to get us something to drink. How could I forget that?

I trek back to the fridge and ask Natsu what he wants to drink. I grab the requested flavored milks and head back to the table and sit down. After saying grace, we dig in. I nibble on my apple while Natsu pigs out. Ew... You think I'd be used to this after five years of us being together... as partners.

Nope... This still grosses me out.

Natsu then pats his swollen belly and looks over at me.

"That was amazing, Luce! Your cooking is so awesome!", He praises me while smiling widely.

I feel my face get that familiar blush back. "You really think so?"

"I don't think so, Luce! I know so! Your omelets were so yummy!", He then smirks at me, "Especially that burnt one."

My eyes go big as my face gets even hotter. What's happening with Natsu?! He's like a flirty Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde! He's goofy and childish one moment, then a teasing vixen the next! He's, surprisingly, really good at it. His chuckles bring me out of my thinking.

"Got you again, Luce! Your face is so red right now! You're such a weirdo!"

I glare at him as I bonk him on the head with my fist. "I'm not a weirdo! You're the one being the weirdo here!"

"Ow, Luce...I was just playing around. You don't have to hit me, y'know?", He whines as he rubs his head.

"Well, stop acting like that, and I will!", I snap back. "You've been acting so strange lately, you know that?"

He looks at me with a serious expression. "Can I ask you something, Luce? This has been bothering me for a while now."

"Sigh... What is it, Natsu?"

"Ummm... What happened to your clock? I mean, why is it all smashed up on the floor? I saw it when I was going to the bathroom."

Oh, Yeah! I forgot to clean up that stupid clock after I got a shower.

"I was having a good dream and my stupid alarm clock messed it up.", I shrug nonchalantly, "So I grabbed it and threw it at the wall."

"Why did you throw it at the wall?!", He asks with an incredulous look on his face.

"It made me mad."

He then deadpans, "And you still don't think you're the weirdo here?"

I can't take it anymore...

I groan in pain as my head slams very hard on the table. Owie...

Natsu's laughter reaches my ears as his hand reaches my back.

"Aww... Cheer up, Luce! At least you're the good kind of weird!"

I turn my head a little to look up at him. "That doesn't make me feel any better, y'know?"

"Well, it should.", He mutters as he looks away and pouts.

I grumble under my breath as I get up to get a strawberry yogurt from the fridge. I walk up and lean on the counter while opening the little package of creamy heaven.

"Hey, Lucy? What are your plans for today?"

I look up at the ceiling in thought, "Well, I thought about stopping by the guild for a few minutes. And if Levy's there, then we could go shopping in town. If she's not there, then I thought I would just come back home to read and work on my novel. Why?", I finish as I look at my now opened container of yogurt. I go to eat it when I realize, I don't have a spoon. Ugh... Better go get one unless I wanna eat yogurt with my hands...

"Well, I was uh... thinking about you and me doing something later on today... If Levy's not at the guild, that is..."

I walk over to the drawer to get a spoon and walk back to my yogurt, ready to dig in.

"Uh... Lucy?"

I snap my head up at hearing my name being called.

"Yeah, Natsu?"

"So, Whaddya say?"

"What do I say to what?", I ask as I tilt my head and raise one eyebrow.

He lets out a big sigh with an annoyed look on his face. "You weren't listening?"

I smile sheepishly and rub the back of my neck. "Sorry, no. I was too captivated by my strawberry yogurt. Um... What were you saying to me?"

He rolls his eyes and smiles at me, "I asked you if you wanted to do something with me later on today, Weirdo."

"Oh. Uh s-sure. Like what?"

He gets up from his seat at the table and walks to the counter where I'm at.

He shrugs his shoulders, still smiling, "I dunno. How about fishing? It's a nice day for it."

I scoop up a spoonful of my yogurt and point it at him.

"That sounds okay. But you and Happy better not push me in the water this time.", I say as I playfully glare at my pink haired companion. I then put the spoonful of heaven in my my mouth. Finally.

"Uh... well, Luce. Happy won't be coming this trip, he's going to be with Carla today. So it'll just be-"

"AAAAAHHHHH! HOT! HOT! HOT! OH, CRAP! THAT'S HOT!", I scream as my mouth feels like a volcano erupted inside it. I run over to the sink and gulp down the ice cold water in hopes of putting out the fire in my mouth.

"Lucy?! What is it?! What happened?!", Natsu shouts frantically as he runs over to where I'm at.

"I-I-I don't know! I was just talking to you and eating my yogurt when my mouth got really, really hot all of a sudden!", I say as I fan my mouth.

"Hmmm...", Natsu hums in thought as he walks back to where my yogurt cup is on the counter. He grabs a spoonful of yogurt and puts it in his mouth, licking his lips and waiting for the same reaction I had.

He suddenly starts... Smiling?

Wait... Why isn't he going crazy with HIS mouth on fire?

"Oh, Wow, Luce! Why didn't you tell me you had this?! This is awesome!", He cheers in delight while taking another spoonful of the cursed yogurt.

"Hold on... Why aren't you acting the same way I did when I ate the yogurt?"

"Probably because I eat this type of stuff all the time anyway...", He replies as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"What are you talking about? I've never seen you eat yogurt before."

Natsu shakes his head back and forth, "Not the yogurt. The stuff IN the yogurt. I never knew yogurt could taste so good with hot sauce in it!", he says while chuckling.

Hot sauce?

I don't think I accidentally grabbed a 'Strawberry-Habanero' flavor of yogurt when I went grocery shopping...

Probably because there isn't a flavor like that...

And I definitely do NOT put hot sauce in my yogurt.

That means SOMEONE put the blazing liquid in MY yogurt.

But, who in the world would put hot sauce in yog-

Natsu!

I turn and glare at the laughing pinkette beside me. "NATSU!"

Said boy turns to me with wide eyes and a horrified expression on his face. "Y-Y-Yeah, L-L-Luce? What's up?", he chuckles nervously.

I point my finger accusingly at him. " It was you! I should've known it was you! Ugh! Why do you do that same prank on me ALL the time?! I'm SO sick of it!"

Natsu puts his hands up in front of him as a way to defend himself. "Woah! Woah! Wait, Luce! What exactly did I do?"

"YOU put HOT SAUCE in MY yogurt, Natsu Dragneel! How many times do I have to tell you to STOP putting that scorching liquid in my food or drink?!", I snap at him.

"Hey, now! What makes you think I did it?", he counters back at me.

"If there is ever a prank pulled on me that involves hot sauce, WHO is ALWAYS the culprit behind it?! Huh?!"

"Well... Me... But I didn't do it this time, Luce!"

I laugh bitterly as I slap my hand on my forehead. "That explains that sound in my bedroom earlier and my kitchen door being open before I unlocked it! Then you and Happy popping in right after... It all makes sense now!"

"But we didn't step in your kitchen until after you were in there and getting ready to cook!"

I gasp as I suddenly realize something very horrible has just happened.

"What is it, Luce?"

I blink a few times to hold back the tears that are threatening to fall. "That was my last yogurt... My last strawberry yogurt... My last container of my favorite flavor of yogurt... The one and only container of yogurt I had left that was going to be my breakfast this morning..."

"Uuummm... Lucy? You okay there?"

I then give the most evil glare I can produce, " And... You... RUINED IT!?"

Before he can say anything else, I say exhaustedly, "Sigh... You know what, Natsu? Since you're the only one that got to eat breakfast, You can be the only one that cleans the kitchen..."

I then storm out of the house and towards the guild.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Hiya! ^_^ I just wanna thank everyone for continuing to read this story! <strong>

**Special shout-out and thanks to my "Twin Fairy" : SnowFairyPrincess YOU SO TOTALLY ROCK! Keep up the writing! =^_^=**

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**Thanks Again! Arigatou!**

**-DragonFairy93**


	4. Chapter 4

'_Why did he have to do that to me?'_

That one question, along with many other thoughts concerning the recent event, was on a continuous loop in my mind as I angrily stormed my way to the guild.

'_I cooked a really nice breakfast for him. So, Why?'_

Folding my arms up tightly which leads to unfolding them straight down into clenching fists to just return them back to their original position does little to relieve some of this pent up anger I have towards a certain fire-breather, who will not be named.

'_Did cooking a multitude of omelets for him (that were originally for me) in the way he likes best deserve to be repaid with an annoying, childish prank that ruins my choice of breakfast?'_

Taking long, deep breaths in to let them out slowly as I march my way to the guild hall ebbs the anger away slightly…. Only slightly.

'_I mean, yeah, I had chosen an apple as a replacement for the omelets I had decided to give to him, but after watching him devour that meal…. Ugh… Let's just say that you'll never get used to witnessing a certain pinkette massacre a plate of food. So, naturally, I lost my appetite for the apple. After a while though, I regained my hunger. And it seemed, at the time, the only thing that could fulfill my breakfast needs was my favorite little snack/meal: yogurt.'_

Just thinking about how my favorite little cuisine got ruined, tends to only make my anger soar. And kicking something nearby to release a little bit of my harbored anger seems to be a very logical thing to do at the time… But, kicking the nearest thing to me (which happened to be a wooden bench) in only a pair of flimsy, open-toed flip-flops, was **not** a very intelligent thing to do.

So, a few random strangers, that just happened to be walking by the instant I decide to kick a bench, were having quite an amusing time standing by, watching me yowl and hop around while clutching on to my injured foot.

Now the pain of my foot and the embarrassment I feel (from the little scene I just made… in public) just adds to my anger, which is directed towards a very irritating, scarf wearing partner of mine.

'_Ouch… Stupid Natsu…. Stupid Omelet…. Stupid Yogurt… Ow… Stupid prank…. Stupid bench… Stupid foot…. OW! Stupid Natsu!'_

My foot is hurting too badly to walk, so I decide to sit down on the bench (that I just kicked…) and rub my foot until it stops hurting, or at least until it stops throbbing…

As I'm sitting there, my thoughts start to wander back again to this morning's mishap. My strawberry yogurt was utterly destroyed by _His_ most beloved flavoring and most favorite prank: hot sauce.

_He _loves to prank people with hot sauce. It's like his trademark prank or his calling card left at the scene of the crime. He started the hot sauce prank a few years back when he wanted to get back at Gray for putting ice down his shirt while he was sleeping in the guild hall, which started an all-out pranking war between _Him_ and Gray.

As the pranking war raged on between those two, innocent bystanders got dragged in and pranked as well. (Me being one of the innocent bystanders…) For some odd reason, _He _then started aiming all of his pranks, mostly his hot sauce one, at me. I tried to get my revenge on him a few times, but I failed miserably.

_His_ pranking skills got better as his time off jobs was well spent pranking everyone in the whole guild hall…. Well, everyone except for Erza….  
><em>He<em> never tried to pull a prank on her…

Which makes me remember the time that Natsu was told, specifically by Erza, to stop pranking people with hot sauce… for good.

It was about 3 months ago…

We had just completed a fairly easy job and we were out at a restaurant celebrating. (Since we hadn't destroyed the town any more than was necessary and actually had a nice pay….)

We were all sitting in our seats, having just finished telling our orders to our waitress, when the girls (Erza, Wendy, Carla) and I decided to go to the bathroom to freshen up before our orders arrived. Gray, Happy, and Pinky were left at the table, bickering about something to do with salt and pepper.

While we were in the bathroom, our waitress came by and placed everyone's orders in their respective places. And apparently, Salamander was putting hot sauce all over his food when he got the bright idea to try his pranking skills at the restaurant we were at. He grabbed my drink, which was right next to his, and poured half the bottle of hot sauce in and stirred it in like a witch would do to her brew, while Gray and Happy giggled like crazy.

We arrived back at the table and sat down with the boys, who were still giggling. I turned towards Happy to ask what was so funny when Erza called me from across the table.

I turned to her and asked, "Yeah, Erza? What's up?"

"Didn't you order the waitress to put vanilla flavoring in your soda?"

I thought for a second before I replied, "Yep! Why?"

She then smiled and stated, "I thought so. I think the waitress got our drinks mixed up. I was wondering why my soda didn't have my requested strawberry flavoring in it when I took a sip. Here switch drinks with me."

Happy, Gray, and Pinky's giggling came to an immediate halt at Erza's statement about our drinks.

Erza and I switched beverages and then turned to the rest of the table to announce the saying of grace before digging into our food.

After saying the blessing of thanks for our food, everyone started eating…. Well, everyone except the boys for some odd reason. They weren't bickering, giggling, eating, or even breathing for that matter. Pinky seemed to be worse off than the other two, so I turned to him to ask what was wrong when Erza began making a choking sound.

Alarmed, I quickly turned to her and watched as she had both hands clutching her neck, her face sweating and seemed to be turning a shade of red even darker than her hair. Erza suddenly released the hold on her neck so as to grab Wendy's nearby milkshake and down it in only a matter of milliseconds. She then breathed out in relief and laid her head down on the table, being deathly still. Whatever her problem was, Wendy's milkshake was evidently the solution to it.

"….Erza? …Are- Are you okay?" Wendy asked as she lightly tapped on Erza's shoulder.

No response.

Wendy tried once more to gain the attention of the unconscious Titania by shaking her slightly. "Hey, Erza? What happened to you? Are you okay? Do you want me to heal you in any way?"

Erza then mumbled something too quiet for anyone to hear. Well, apparently, too quiet for normal hearing, but it seemed Wendy and Pinky heard her loud and clear. Whatever her response was caused Wendy to tense up and Pinky to shake uncontrollably.

Since Pinky was right next to me, I turned to him to ask what Erza had said that caused him and Wendy to react the way they did. The only response I got out of him was more shaking and the quiet mantra of, "Why me?!"

Puzzled by his current actions, I turned to Wendy and asked her, hoping for an actual answer.

"U-Uh, W-Well…. She-She Um…." She stuttered back nervously.

Erza, now sitting up in her seat, was glaring katanas at Pinky as she decided to repeat her bone-chilling statement. "I stated that I felt truly sorry for Happy, as he was soon to become an orphan by my hands…"

She stood up in the most intimidating stance and continued scowling at Pinky. "…That strawberry fountain drink I had ordered was to be the highlight of my day…."  
>Summoning her sword to point at his throat and getting into her battle stance she continued. "…..And now thanks to your stupid, childish prank, I will never truly know the pure delight of sipping a strawberry soda with my closest friends…"<p>

Erza brought her sword high above her head, ready to slice the man in front of her in half. "….You will now receive the most brutal of punishments only granted to those who commit the lowest of crimes. Said crimes being the defecation of Fairy Tail's reputation in a well-respected eatery, and, worst of all, the crude tampering of my highly anticipated flavored drink. Now…. RECEIVE PUNISHMENT!"

She swung her sword down and narrowly missed Pinky by a strand of his hair. Said man ran all over the restaurant, dodging every swing the enraged Titania swung at him, all the while yelling, "I'm Sorry, Erza! I'll buy you another one! Please don't kill me!"

It wasn't until Pinky tripped did Erza finally catch him and gave him his cruel, inhumane punishment…..In every corner of the restaurant….  
>The five of us still sat at the table (that wasn't ruined yet…) with wide eyes and shocked expressions, watching the punishment be unleashed onto Pinky.<p>

When _that_ was all over with, we had to apologize and give over half of our reward to the owners of the now destroyed restaurant to pay for repairs. We (Gray, Happy, and I) also had to take turns carrying the beaten, barely recognizable dragon slayer while Wendy healed him up. Even now that Wendy is a teenager and her healing strength has doubled, it took her almost the whole trip home to fix Pinky back up.

When said fire dragon slayer came to from his fist induced coma, Erza reprimanded him again… verbally this time…

He was told to never pull that stupid hot sauce prank ever again. All three boys were then warned not to be pulling pranks on jobs or around her, for they would receive brutal punishment if they did.

That happened only 3 months ago….

Which leads me to question, '_Why even think about attempting that prank again after receiving such a brutal punishment from Erza? It makes no sense…'_

I arise from my spot on the bench and decide it's time to carry on to the guildhall. I tentatively put weight on my injured foot with the success of no pain shooting up my whole leg, so I continue walking.

I make it to the guildhall and enter through the doors and begin my search for the one girl I need to talk to right now: My best friend, Levy.

I look to the left of the guild and see Wendy chatting with Cana while Happy and Carla play a card game on the table Cana and Wendy are sitting at. There are blunettes over there, just not the blunette I'm looking for.

So I turn to the opposite side to witness Gray strip off his shirt and begin working on his pants when Juvia steps in to stop him. She grabs his discarded shirt off the floor and forces his shirt back on while telling him that no matter how much she loves to see his body, she doesn't want any of her love rivals seeing it. He thanks her by giving her a kiss on cheek which results in her fainting. Apparently, she still hasn't gotten used to her boyfriend giving her kisses yet….  
>Another blunette, but not the one I need right now.<p>

I switch my gaze to the last area I haven't tried yet: The bar area. I look straight ahead and notice Mira Jane serving the customers currently seated there. I watch as she serves Erza a slice of strawberry cheesecake, Pantherlilly a bowl of cut up kiwis, Gajeel some turkey legs and bolts on the side, Levy a fruit salad and bottle of water, an-…. AH! Levy! Found her!

I quickly skip over to the bar and plop myself down in the cushy bar stool right next to hers. She turns to me as soon as I sit next to her and smiles. "Oh, Hey, Lu! I was wondering when you were gonna come sit next to me."

"Yeah", I reply back, "Well, I was looking all over the guild for you. You know, even though it's Sunday, the guild's still pretty full."

"Yeah, I noticed that, too. I guess it's because most people don't have like families to stay at home and spend the day with or dates to go out on the town with." Levy responded back.

"But your boyfriend is right beside you, so why aren't you two spending it in town or someplace other than the guild?"

"Ugh…" Levy groaned out, "Don't even get me started with Gajeel right now. I told him last night I wanted to go do something together today, you know like walk on the beach or picnic on a hill or something romantic like that… But instead of that, I get dragged to the guildhall to sit and watch him pig out or go head to head with Pantherlilly every fifteen minutes… If I had known that this day was going to transpire this way, I would've stayed home or went to the library."

"Oh, yeah! That reminds me!" I exclaim, "I was wondering if you wanted to go shopping with me today. I need to pick up some groceries and I'd kinda like to stop by the bookstore and look for a certain book. So, whaddya say? Wanna go?"

"Oh my goodness! Yes! Anywhere but here right now!"

"But, Shrimp!" Gajeel barked. "I thought you were gonna watch me fight and then help me pick a job for tomorrow!"

"Ugh! No, Gajeel!" Levy countered back, "I said I wanted to do something together _with you_ today! And you pigging out or you sparring with Pantherlilly is _not_ us being together!"

"But, you were right there with me the whole time I was doing any of that!"

"Yeah! But not _participating_ with you!"

"You coulda pigged out with me! Nobody was holdin' ya back!"

"Ew, Gajeel! I am _not_ pigging out with you! That's just gross!" Levy shrieked back at the idea of eating like a dragon slayer. "Besides, I'm going shopping with Lu! Someone who will and actually _wants _to _participate_ with me today!"

"But you're supposed to stay with me today! Why can't Bunny-Girl drag Salamander's lazy rear shopping instead of you?!"

"Because she asked me to, that's why! And I want go shopping, so I'm going to go shopping and that's final!" Levy finished yelling. "I'll be back before dark, so I'll help you pick out a job then. Now, go finish eating and then go play with your cat."

Gajeel just let out a low growl as his reply and stomped off while shoving a whole turkey leg in his mouth.

Levy turned back to me and let out a big exhale as she laughed. "Ha-ha! Well, that's settled! Another round goes to me!"

"I didn't mean to cause you two to fight, Levy… I'm sorry." I say afflicted.

"Hmm?" Levy hums with a questioning look on her face. "Oh! That? That was gonna happen today anyway. I was not about to sit here all day watching Gajeel try to show off his "manliness". It's a good thing you came when you did though, Lu. Because I was going to confront him right after I ate anyway." She begins giggling as she hugs me around the neck and playfully states, "My hero! Hahaha!"

We both hug each other and laugh at the silly comment. When all the giggles have stopped, we go back to sitting normally in our seats. Levy states that we'll leave as soon as she's through with her fruit salad. I start picking a couple of fruits off the side from her salad as a way to suppress my hunger and to hurry her up. She's almost done when she takes a swig from her water bottle and looks at me with a questionable look. "Gajeel did bring up a good point though. Why isn't Natsu going with you today? Doesn't he usually ask you to go do something with him on Sunday?"

I let out a big sigh as I recall the _exact _reason why I'm here right now. "Yeah, he does and he did ask me today…."

She then tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "He did? Well… Why aren't you two out having fun being your silly, oblivious selves?"

"….Because he ruined my breakfast, that's why…." I replied, ignoring her comments about me.

Levy then gained a slightly pained expression on her face as a realization hit her. "Oh…. He walked out of your bathroom naked again, didn't he?"

My eyes go wide and my face goes hot as I remember the one time that did happen. "No-No! It wasn't that at all!"

"Oh my! What's this I hear about Natsu's nakedness in Lucy's house? Oh! And Lucy's blushing?! My, My Lucy! Were you and Natsu trying to get dirty right after he got a shower this morning? Oh, I'm so happy for you two!" A sweet voice suddenly harasses me from behind the bar.

"Mira!" Levy and I both shriek.

"Yep! That's me! Now spill it! Every detail! I wanna be the judge on how big of a celebration we should throw for you two!" Mira screams at me.

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Mira! Calm down!" Levy hollers.

"Huh?" Mira asks confused. "What's wrong?"

"Mira, Natsu and Lucy are _not_ together…." Levy explains to Mira, with Levy mumbling something quieter at the end of her explanation.

"But! I know I heard you right, Levy! And Lucy's face is proof!"

"Mira!" I exclaim, "That was two weeks ago and I threw a towel at him as soon as he came into my view! I saw nothing and nothing happened!"

"…..Are you sure?" Mira asks with a slightly disappointed tone in her voice.

"Yes, Mira. Absolutely sure." I confirm to the saddened take-over mage.

"…..Oh…. I thought he would've made a move by now…. I guess not…." She replies depressed.

"Mira Jane, would you please provide me with another slice of your delectable strawberry cheesecake?" A stern toned woman asks from down the bar.

Mira Jane perks up a little to answer the armored Titania. "Why, of course, Erza! Give me just a moment!"

She begins to walk off to grab the requested piece of cheesecake when she stops and turns to me. "I know it'll happen soon! So, I'll keep rooting for him!" With that said, she continued on her way.

With a puzzled look on my face, I turn to Levy hoping she can help make some sense of what just happened with Mira Jane. "Umm…. What just happened, Levy?"

Levy's face goes slightly worried but goes back to normal as she tells me it was nothing but Mira and her silly daydreams acting up again. But something doesn't seem to fit right with me about her explanation.

"Now, you wanna tell me how Natsu ruined your breakfast this morning?" Levy gains my attention back. I decide to just shrug off this feeling…. For now…

"Yeah." I reply as I let out a big breath. I go on to tell her all the events that happened at my house this morning, from the weird sounds in my bedroom to putting my spoonful of yogurt in my mouth. "…. I didn't even hear what else he was going to say because my mouth all of a sudden caught on fire! After I finally cooled my mouth off and watched him eat my yogurt, it all clicked! He was the one who tainted my strawberry yogurt with that stupid hot sauce prank again!" I shout as my anger begins to rear its ugly head again.

"Again?" Levy asked very confused. "Wait, didn't Erza _just_ scold him recently about pulling that prank?"

"Yeah! And that's what I don't get, Levy! Why go to the risk of getting beat to a pulp _just_ to pull a prank on me? It makes no sense…" I finish as I angrily shake my head.

Levy then gains a sly look on her face. "You know what it means when a boy constantly pulls pranks on just _one_ girl, right?"

"No… What does it mean?" I ask because this truly caught my attention.

"Oh my gosh, Lu! I can't believe you don't know that!" Levy exclaims laughing which only embarrasses me more.

"Oh, knock off the laughing Levy and just tell me already!"

"It means he likes you, silly!" Levy proclaims while throwing her hands up.

"Well, duh, Levy… I know he likes me. Why else would he wanna be my friend if he didn't like me?"

"I didn't mean that kind of '_like'_, Lu…" Levy deadpans. "I can't believe that someone like you can be so intelligent and so clueless at the same time." She finishes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Clueless about what, Levy?" I ask in annoyance.

"Never mind. It's not important right now anyway." She states standing from her seat and grabbing her purse. "But what _is_ important right now, is getting out of this place and getting some shopping done before lunch time comes around. So, you ready?"

I twist my mouth in annoyance as Levy has, yet again, changed the direction of our conversation. "Yeah, let's go." I say as I rise from my seat as well.

Before Levy and I are able to head out the doors, a dark haired, bare chested ice mage blocks our path.

"Yo, Ladies. What's up?" Gray smiles at us.

"Oh, hey, Gray." I smile back. "Nothing much, really. Just fixin' to head out with Levy."

"Really?" He asks as he leans over and catches a glimpse of Levy's purse. "So, what? You two going shopping then?"

"Uh, Yeah? Why?"

"Oh, no reason." He shrugs nonchalantly. "So…. Is it just you two girls going? Or are you meeting someone else in town later….?"

Levy and I share a questioning glance before I turn back to Gray. "Uh, No… It's just me and Levy…. Why?" I ask again.

"Just you two? Seriously?" Gray states with disbelief.

"Yeah? Wait… Why does that seem so hard to believe, Gray?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's just wherever you are, a certain idiot is _always_ around you and it's actually strange not seeing him there." Gray looks off, kind of annoyed and lets out a breath. "Man, I swear he's like a frickin' lovesick puppy sometimes…."

"_He_? Are you talking about Natsu?"

"Gee, I don't know, Lucy. What other guy would I be talkin' about that's around you all the time like he's hooked to your hip?" Gray replies very sarcastically.

"Okay. Natsu's not around me _all _the time, Gray. Like, now, for instance. He's not anywhere near me, therefore making him _not_ 'hooked to my hip'." I state matter-of-factly while making air quotes.

"Well, he was with you this morning before you came to the guild, Lu." Levy throws in, smiling.

"Is that so?" Gray asked, smirking. "Well, where's the poor puppy now? Off fetching something for his Master 'Luce'?" He mocks while laughing.

"Don't call him that." I state a little annoyed. "I don't know where he's at and quite frankly, at the moment, I don't _care_ where he's at." I declare while crossing my arms and looking away.

"Uh-Oh. Sounds like he's in the dog pound. What'd he do this time?" He asks, leaning back on the bar counter.

I let out an exasperated sigh, realizing I have to keep talking about his 'crime'… And plus, the time is slipping away for Levy and I to go shopping before Lunchtime Rush Hour strikes. "Long story short, Gray, he pulled his forbidden prank on me again, ruining my breakfast, thus making me mad." I answer hurriedly while pulling Levy towards the doors. "Now if you'll excuse us, we must be going. Got lots of shopping to do."

"Oh, you mean the hot sauce prank _Erza_ specifically told him _not_ to pull anymore? That's just horrible…." He announces loudly after us, in a very childish way. "Well, have fun shopping. You deserve it after what he did."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…." I roll my eyes at Gray's…. weirdness. I smile back at Levy as we keep marching to the doors. "So, you _finally_ ready for a nice 'Girls Day Out', Lev- OOF!" I bump into someone at the doors.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I apologize while turning to face my bumped-into victim. "I wasn't quite looking where I was-" I stop as I look into the smiling face of my yogurt saboteur.

Natsu.

"Yo, Lucy. Glad I ran into ya."

My childish side kicks in as I pout and look away from him. "Well I'm not. Now move so Levy and I can go."

"Wait! Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asks while blocking my way with his body.

"No." I curtly reply while trying to get past his body blockade. "Now…. Move… Out of…. My way…. So… I can… Leave…. Natsu!" He blocks my every attempt.

"Let me talk to you first, okay?"

"No." I say again while glaring at the floor.

"Aww, Come on…" He playfully whines, getting in my line of view.

I turn away quickly. "No."

"Pleeeaase?" He comically begs, trying to get in front of my face again.

I turn away again, feeling a smile trying to spread but forcing it back down for the sake of being angry. "No, I'm mad at you."

"Well, I'm trying to make you 'un-mad' at me, so will you please look at me?" He chuckles while leaning towards my face, making Levy giggle behind me.

"No." I rebel against his request and look down at the floor.

Spiky, pink hair and an upside down smiling face invades my view of the floor. "I know you wanna smile, Lucy~. Quit holdin' it back and let it 'Luce'! Ha-ha! 'Luce', that's funny!"

I twist my mouth in a strained attempt at not smiling while averting my eyes elsewhere. "No. Go away."

"Lucy, you think you can hurry up and stop being mad at me? My neck's startin' to cramp…."

A slight giggle escapes my lips as I roll my eyes at his goofiness.

"Come on, Lu… The poor guy's neck is cramping up. Go ahead and listen to him." Levy convinces me while giggling herself.

"…..fine…." I stand up and straighten my posture. Natsu does the same while rubbing his neck. "What do you want, Natsu?"

"Ah! Finally. I wanna speak to you about what happened earlier."

"Alright then, hurry up and speak. Levy and I need to go."

Natsu glances behind me at Levy and returns his gaze to me. "Actually, I was wanting to discuss this with you… Alone. So like outside, maybe?"

I look back at Levy to see her nod her approval. "Yes, yes. Go outside and make up, you two!"

I turn back to Natsu and give a curt nod. "Okay. Let's go."

"Hold on, Natsu. You and I need to talk. It's rather important." A stern voice sounds from behind us as we're walking out the door.

"Hmm? Oh, okay, Erza. Just hold on a minute. Me and Lucy are going out here to talk-"

A sharp, painful tug of his ear cuts off the rest of his statement. "No, Natsu. You and I will _talk_ NOW." Erza firmly states while dragging Natsu towards the back of the guild by his ear. "It has come to my attention recently that you have been up to your tomfoolery as of late."

"Ow! Huh? What are you- Ouch! - talking about, Erza?"

"The childish activity I wish you and Gray had _never_ started at all. It does nothing productive whatsoever. Only causes chaos amongst yourselves which spreads to everyone else, leading to the utter destruction of peace and tranquility."

"I'm still- Ow! - not following you, Erza. What did I do?"

Erza stops in front of a door that leads to the junk room and opens it with one hand while the other hand still has a strong hold on Natsu's ear. "You have disregarded my direct orders of never participating in this immature activity you call 'pranking'."

"Oh, no!" I hear Levy gasp beside me. "Erza must've overheard you talking about Natsu earlier, Lu!"

"…Oh, Crap, Levy…." I say with dread.

Either Natsu figured out what Erza was talking about or he heard what Levy had just said (or both…), because he paled fifty shades of white and turned to me with wide eyes and an expression I can best describe as hurt, making my heart tighten with guilt.

I mean, sure I was mad at him… But not mad enough to bring that horrible punishment down on his head again. Nobody deserves what Erza can dish out in a form of punishment….

"Wait, Erza! Hold on a minute!" I yell across the guild hall, hoping to stop the punishment.

"You disregarding my orders is my fault, apparently. Perhaps I wasn't stern enough with you-"

"-Oh, No! You were plenty stern, Erza! But let me explain first-" Natsu cuts in, trying to make Erza listen.

"-Or perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough to you when we had a discussion on this specific topic just a few months back-"

"-You were crystal clear! But you gotta listen to me! I didn't do-"

Erza lets out a sad sigh. "-I am truly disappointed in, not only you, but myself as well. I have failed in the ways of reprimanding today's youth. But all of that will be fixed_ today_…."

A bright light forms around Erza, letting us know that she's performing a 'requip'. When the light fades, Erza is in a navy blue schoolmaster's uniform, wearing glasses on her face, hair up in a bun, and high heels on her feet. She gains a new accessory in her vacant hand. A long piece of board that's wide at the top and thin at the bottom and used in the beating of various objects: a paddle.

"Can you believe it? I picked this outfit out just for occasions like this. This is my 'Headmaster's Outfit'. Perfect for punishing unruly students such as yourself." She smiles sadistically making Natsu gulp. Erza then throws Natsu in the junk room by his ear and walks in herself. "Now…. let's see if we can _discuss_ this in a way that will finally make you understand what I mean when I give the direct order of 'Don't do it again'." She locks the door behind her.

"Oh, man…." Gray says. "This…. Is gonna be good…"

Before anyone can reply to Gray's comment, the sounds of desperate pleas and war cries can be heard from the two inhabitants of the junk room. Loud statements such as "Be still!" and "You broke it! Guess I'll have to use this instead!" can also be heard from the ominous Titania.

The commotion behind the door stops after a short while. The door slowly opens revealing a slightly disheveled Erza walking out from the darkness of the room. She heads straight to the bar after straightening her outfit. "Mira, please supply me with a slice of strawberry cheesecake. And throw in a strawberry milkshake while you're at it. Large sized, if you will. I'm going to head to the guild's showers to wash up. I think I got some blood on me. I'll be back shortly."

I look to the door hoping to see a pink headed dragon slayer (still in one piece, hopefully…) walk out as well. Or at least crawl out….

"Okay, Erza. I'm just going to go check on Natsu and make sure he's at least still breathing after that."

"No need for that, Mira. I did it on the way out. He's fine. Besides, he needs some time to himself to think about our little discussion in there." Erza states as she climbs the stairs to the next floor.

"Okie-Dokie then! I'll just get your order made up and then I'll get Natsu something ready for when he's able to come out." The white-haired barmaid cheers as she heads to the back of the kitchen to prepare the food.

"Thank you."

"Oh, Man! That was priceless! Hahaha! You SO deserved that, Flame-brain!" Gray cackles, with Gajeel joining in the laughter.

"Come on, Lu…" Levy says while pulling me outside by my arm. My body is frozen with shock from just _listening_ to what happened in there, but the guilt that's eating away at my heart is much stronger than the shock I feel.

* * *

><p>"All right. Come on, Lucy. Snap out of it." Levy demands while snapping her fingers in front of my face repeatedly.<p>

I come to and notice we're at Market Street, sitting on a bench in front of the book store.

"It's all my fault, Lev…." I say, guilt-ridden.

"Well, yeah, Lu. What'd you expect was going to happen when you were talking pretty heatedly about Natsu with Erza sitting not too far away?"

"I forgot she was there…."

"Gray kinda helped out with that, too…. So, it's partly his fault as well…"

"Yeah… But did you see the look he gave _me_ before Erza threw him in there? I feel so horrible…." I hug myself.

Levy joins in hugging me. "Oh, Lu…"

"Do you think he'll forgive me, Levy?"

"Ha! Are you kidding? This is Natsu we're talking about here. He may be sore at people for a while, yes, but he eventually forgives them." She then pulls back and smiles coyly at me. "And I know for a fact he'll forgive you pretty quick. A lot quicker than anyone else in the whole guild, actually…"

"Why? I wouldn't forgive him so easily if the roles were reversed…."

"You're not serious, right?" She deadpans. "I watched that ridiculous excuse of a man make you smile and even giggle when you were 'mad' at him, Lu. You would so forgive him as quickly as he would you." She stands from the hug and waves her hand in dismissal at me. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"Don't you think I should at least go back and wait for him to come out so I can apologize?"

"You heard the blows and you even heard from Erza herself. It's gonna be quite a while before Natsu will even think of coming out. If you went back and waited, you would get absolutely _no_ shopping done today. The best thing for you to do is get all your non-perishable shopping done now, eat some lunch, then get your groceries and ask Natsu back to your house with you so you can apologize. He should be out by then. Right?"

"….Yeah. That sounds like a good idea, Levy." I smile at her. "Thanks."

"Of course! What are best friends for?" She smiles back. "Now let's get going! Shall we?" She holds her arm out for me.

I giggle as I stand from the bench and hook my arm with hers to walk in the bookstore. "Aye, Sir! We shall!"

We reach the inside of the bookstore and the smell of paper, ink and fresh-brewed coffee instantly fills my nose. Such a wonderful aroma to read in.

I head to one certain section while Levy, with her gale force reading glasses, goes through every section of the store like a young child would a candy store.

I reach my desired book section and begin looking for anything that would help me in my endeavor to figure out exactly what my dream means. I look through countless titles only to come up with two that look anywhere near promising.

"Are you ready to check out, Lu?" a tall stack of books asks me.

"Levy?" I amusedly lean to the right to see behind the stack of books. "Is that you?"

"Well, yeah, of course it's me."

"I wasn't sure. For a minute there, I thought a stack of books was trying to get me to check out." I giggle while eyeing the towering pile of novels. "Wait… Are you seriously trying to buy _all_ those books at one time?" I ask incredulously.

"I thought about it…."

"Well, you can't walk around town with a huge pile of books like that, Lev. How about this? Why don't you buy like four now and come back with Gajeel to get the rest of them later?"

"….Can I buy five?" She tentatively asks.

"Yes! Just not _thirty-five_, Levy! Now come on, let's go!" I stress while laughing at my blue-headed, book-obsessed best friend.

We go to checkout with Levy putting all her books on hold except for five. It's my turn to pay for my books when I reach into my purse, only to realize I didn't bring my purse with me this morning. I begin to panic before I remembered where I put my 'secret stash of jewel' that's for emergencies like this.

Excusing myself to an abandoned aisle, I check to make sure I'm _totally_ alone before I try to pull out my 'emergency money'. With the coast clear, I reach my hand into the left part of my bra and undo a concealed clasp that stores my jewel. I pull out the required amount and quickly put the rest back before anyone sees. I definitely do _not_ want some perverted idiot trying to steal my jewel _and_ get my bra. With money in hand, I pay for my items and head out with Levy.

Going by the plaza clock (…and our stomachs…), we notice it's time for lunch. We head to the nearest café, order a chicken sandwich meal, and sit at an outside table to eat. We are halfway through our meal whenever Levy starts on me about a certain partner of mine.

"So… Where was Natsu going to take you today before you snapped?" She inquires while munching on her fries.

"He asked me to go fishing with him today. He said it was a nice day for it…" I respond guiltily, sipping my milkshake.

"Mm-Hmm…." Levy nods. "Just the two of you or was Happy going, too?"

"As far as I know, Happy was going with us, because I told Natsu I didn't want the two of them pushing me in the water again…."

"I bet he was going to ask you to go alone with him today, Lu."

"Uh-huh… And why exactly would he do that, Lev?"

"Because he likes you, silly. And I don't mean in the 'Just Friends' way, either…" She says softly.

A light blossom of pink graces my cheeks as I understand just what form of 'like' she means.

"I don't wanna hear that right now, Levy…."

"Oh, come on…."

"No. Natsu and I are just friends. _Best_ friends, yeah. But still, just friends. I don't understand why you keep on with that crazy idea…."

"It's NOT a crazy idea! I _know_ it's true!" She gasps and covers her mouth as if she's let something 'secret' out.

"Wait… What? What do you mean you 'know it's true'?" I interrogate Levy.

"Um… Well… What I meant to say was 'I can almost guarantee you it's true'." She corrects herself. "All you have to do is watch him, Lu. The guy's head over heels for you."

"….I don't know, Lev…"

"Okay. I have a proposition for you. Listen up." She straightens herself in her seat and gets a determined look on her face. "From now on, I don't want you to brush off or play down or ignore anything Natsu says, does, or asks of you that makes you feel a little uncomfortable or, in his words, 'weird'. Got it?"

"WHAT?!"

"I'm serious, Lu. In fact, I want you to _promise_ me. Go ahead. Promise."

"I can't do that!"

"And why not, huh?"

"Because I….." I hesitate. "….I keep having 'that' dream."

Levy exhales. "Well, Lu. You know where I stand on that issue as well."

"But, what if you're wrong about it and about him?"

"What if I'm right? Which I deeply believe I am." She counters. "He _really_ cares for you. All you have to do is give him a chance. I truly believe _he's _the one you keep dreaming about, Lu."

"I still don't know, Levy…."

"How about this? Carry it out for one week. And if you two haven't got together or at least acknowledged your feelings for each other by then, then I'll…. I'll…. I'll give you every book I've ever owned as recompense!" Levy boldly declares, looking shocked by her own words.

"You're not serious, are you?" I ask, equally as shocked.

"Y-Yeah! I am! 100% serious!" She shakily confirms. "And I want you to be j-just as serious about this as I am, Lu!"

I raise a skeptic brow at the shaking blunette. "You _really_ have _that _much faith in this little 'wager' you're throwing at me?"

"Y-Yes. I do." Levy affirms after seemingly regaining her confidence.

I remain quiet for a few moments to seriously process all of the pros and cons of Levy's proposal for this week. After weighing it back and forth multiple times, I finally make my decision to…. Go along with her crazy idea. If this destroys the close bond between me and Natsu as friends, at least I'll have Levy's books to keep me company at the guild or on jobs…..

"Okay, Levy…. I'll do it…."

"Good! Oh, thank you, Lu! Now you have to promise in front of me to seal the deal." She perks up in her seat and sticks her hand out to me. "I've got a great idea! Let's shake on it to make it official. Just like the guys do when they wager!"

I place my hand in hers and give a good grip. "I, Lucy Heartfilia, promise to give this _crazy_ idea a chance for exactly one week."

"And…" Levy adds. "If my said '_crazy_ idea' doesn't work my friend, Lucy Heartfilia, is then entitled to every single book I, Levy McGarden, have ever owned…. Except for three…"

"Levy…."

"Okay! Okay! You'll get all of them!" With a firm shake and a curt nod, we seal the pact.

"…I sure hope you know what you're doing to me, Levy…" I mumble, returning to my unfinished meal.

"…I'm not doing anything _to_ you, Lu. I'm doing something _for_ you…" Levy responds, smiling softly.

Upon finishing our meals, we follow Levy's suggestion and go to the market, getting all of my perishables. Grabbing all necessary items, I pay for my selected groceries and hurry back to the guild with Levy to get Natsu before heading home.

Reaching the guild doors, I bid Levy a farewell as I begin my quick search for Natsu. I search all the hot spots that my crazy partner likes to be at, only to come up completely empty in my quest. Twisting my mouth in confusion, I turn to find anyone that would have definite knowledge of Natsu's whereabouts. My eyes then land on a small blue ball of fur sitting on a nearby table, eating a fish. If anyone knows where Natsu is, Happy should.

"Hey, Happy?" I approach the snacking Exceed. "Do you know where Natsu's at?"

Happy looks up from his fish and gives a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Your guess is as good as mine, Lucy."

"You don't know? You mean he didn't even tell you where he was going or anything?" I ask, slightly annoyed.

"Well, no. I guess it didn't cross his mind when he ran out a little while ago." He puts his fish bones down and begins wiping his face. "He was pretty upset when he ran out, too…."

"He was?" My heart tightens slightly with guilt. "Did he say why?"

"Well, besides the fact he got beat up and laughed at…" He stands up and crosses his arms. "…He got beat up and laughed at for something he didn't do…" Happy answers candidly.

"Hold on…. What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said. He was punished and humiliated because _someone_ wrongfully accused him of pulling a certain prank at that certain _someone's _house earlier this morning." He answers while giving me an accusatory look.

"He was not wrongfully accused, Happy." I glare at the cat. "He's the only one who pulls that prank and you know it."

"Yeah, Lucy, I do know. I also know for a fact that he didn't do it."

"Oh, Yeah? Well, if Natsu didn't do it, then who did, Smart Guy?"

"Gray." Happy answered plainly.

"Gray?" I echo Happy.

"Mm-Hmm. Yep. It was Gray, alright." Happy confirms, smiling proudly.

I gain a suspicious look as I lean towards the smiling cat. "And how, exactly, did you come to that conclusion, Happy?"

"Easy!" He cheers, raising his paw in the air. "I heard him say it!"

"You heard Gray say that _he_ was the one that spiked my yogurt and that it _wasn't_ Natsu?" I challenge.

"Aye! He admitted to it after Erza threatened him!"

My eyes widen at the cheerful cat's answer. "Why was Erza threatening Gray?"

"Because Natsu told her what really happened this morning."

"And that was?..." I press for more information.

"Gray had snuck into your house to mess with your yogurt before we got there, to make it look like Natsu did it instead."

I furrow my brows in confusion. "How did Natsu figure all that out?"

"He could smell Gray's scent throughout your house. It was really strong around your fridge." Happy answered, shrugging nonchalantly. "Plus, he knew that Gray had it out for him. So he just put two and two together…"

"Why was Gray trying to get revenge on Natsu?" I ask.

"I don't know… Something about toilets and chocolate…." Happy raises his paw to his head. "It was really hard to understand him while Erza was dragging him to the junk room."

I let out an exasperated sigh as my gaze travels to the floor. "I really messed up, didn't I?"

"Aye. You sure did, Lucy."

With a surge of determination running through me, I begin walking to the doors. "I need to find him and fix this."

"Aye! When you see him, offer him a fish!" Happy calls out after me. "That's what I'd do!"

* * *

><p>Sitting on the edge of a water fountain with my head in my hands, I let out an exhausted groan.<p>

"Why can't I find him?" I ask no one in particular. "I mean he's got to be _somewhere_, right? He couldn't have just vanished into thin air… Could he?"

Letting out another groan, I look to the skies and notice that the sun's beginning to set, which only makes me that much more anxious to find him.

"You big dummy…." I talk to the empty space beside me, as if he's sitting right there. "I was already feeling bad enough for what I did to you. So why'd you go and clean up my entire kitchen and make me feel that much worse, huh?"

I had to stop by my house to unload all of my groceries before I could start my search for Natsu. After I walked in to my presumably dirty kitchen, I flicked the light switch on, and the scene that was in front of me caused my breathing to stop.

The dirty kitchen I left Natsu in was… Spotless….

The clean room had not only caused me to stop breathing, it had also caused me to remember the entire heated conversation I had with him this morning… And along with the new information Happy gave me earlier….

All I can say is….

Never in my entire life have I felt so much guilt as I do right now.

Moaning in pain, I look down to my throbbing legs and begin rubbing the soreness out of them. Traveling to almost every corner in a city as massive as Magnolia, searching for a missing dragon slayer, is not an easy task. Taking big breaths in and out, I close my eyes and begin to think of more places to look.

Failing to come up with _anywhere_ to look, I jump up from my spot in frustration and begin pacing back and forth. "Where could he be? If I were an upset Natsu, Where would I go?"

I stop my pacing as realization hits me in the face. "His house…" I slap a hand to my forehead. "Of course! Where's the one place most people would go to if they were upset? Their house! Gosh! Could I be any dumber? Ugh!"

With Natsu's house being my destination, I make a hurried beeline past the edge of Magnolia and through the forest.

With Natsu's house in my sights, I stop and lean up against a tree to catch my breath and compose myself before walking the rest of the way. I reach his front door slowly and go to knock when nervousness takes over my body, causing me to withdraw my fist and step back.

"No…." I tell myself. "You said you were gonna fix this, so fix it …" My determination returning from earlier, I step forward and knock on his door, and then wait.

And wait…

I knock again, a little louder in case he didn't hear me, and wait…

And wait…

And wait….

My annoyance levels running high, I open his front door anyway. He breaks into my house all the time, so why can't I break into his.

Making a quick sweep of the house and stepping over many dirty piles of laundry, I come to the conclusion that Natsu is, in fact, _not_ in his house.

Since he's not inside, I step back outside. "Now where have you gotten to, Natsu?"

As soon as that question leaves my mouth, a recent memory of Natsu pops in my head. _'I don't know… How about fishing? Seems like a nice day for it…'_

"Fishing?" I echo Memory Natsu. "Wait… Fishing! Yeah! There's that lake with the waterfall behind his house!" I begin sprinting past his house to the lake. "Please be there…"

I know I'm getting close when I hear the roar of the waterfall getting louder with each step I take. I reach the clearing around the lake and stop. Because, not too far away in front of me, sitting with a fishing pole in his hands, is the person I've been searching for _all_ day….

"Natsu…" I breathe out in relief.

He flinches and slowly turns his head enough to get a side glance of me. "….Lucy…." He turns back to the lake.

I walk slightly closer to where he's at and stand there, hands clutched together behind my back. "Hey. So, um, what are you up to?"

"….Fishing…." He answers with his gaze still locked on the lake, slight annoyance laced in his tone.

"Oh, okay…" I reply back, feeling slightly uncomfortable in the tense atmosphere. "So, um… Have you, uh, have you caught anything yet?"

"…No…" He responds while the top of his pole is curved from a fish pulling his hook. He makes no move to pull it in whatsoever, letting his would-be catch get away. Twisting his mouth in annoyance, he pulls the hook out, baits it, and throws it back in, returning to his original position.

My chest begins tightening at the sight of Natsu fishing half-heartedly. I walk a little closer to him to get in his peripheral view. As I get a side look of his face, my chest becomes clamped in guilt. The side of his face that I'm looking at has some unbelievably dark bruises, a couple of tender looking knots, and the right side of his nose has left a dried blood trail down to his lip. And that's just one side of his face….

Feeling totally awkward, I decide to quit with the small talk and go ahead and apologize.

"Natsu…" I receive a grunt as his response. "…I'm-I'm sorry."

He side-glances me once again before looking back to the lake. "…For what?..."

"Well… For accusing you, yelling at you, causing you to be wrongfully dealt a very violent punishment," He flinches at the mention of that. "And, most importantly, not listening to you…" I begin rubbing my arm. "This whole ordeal wouldn't have happened if I had just shut up and listened to you right from the start."

He nods his head, apparently in agreement with what I just said about listening to him.

"So…" I continue when he says nothing. "…I can totally understand if you hate me right now. I mean, I know _I_ would hate me if the roles were switched…" I look to the lake as well, looking at the beautiful colors in the lake's reflection, caused by the sun's setting. "…I don't know what else, if there _is_ anything else, to say to let you know how sorry I am for how this day has turned out for you."

I look back at Natsu to see him still staring at the lake with the same look he's had on his face since I've arrived. "So, um, anyway…" I begin, retreating back to the forest. "I'm just-I'm just gonna leave you alone now."

I make it to the edge of the clearing when I hear my name being called by Natsu. I turn around and watch him motion to the ground next to him with his head. When I don't move, he sighs and rolls his eyes. "You know I'm not gonna bite…" motioning to that spot again.

I nervously walk over and sit next to him, a little further than where meant. We sit there in complete, uncomfortable silence for a while, until he lets out a big sigh and begins talking.

"I don't hate you, Lucy…" He shifts in his spot, keeping his gaze on the lake in front of us. "Am I mad at you? Kinda… Annoyed at you? _Very_…" He turns his face totally to me, locking eyes with me. "But 'hate' you? _Never…_ I could never hate you, Luce…"

I exhale out, never noticing when I began holding my breath, and smiling slightly when he called me by my nickname.

"So don't ever start getting the idea that I hate you, ever again. You hear me?"

"Yeah." I nod. "Okay."

"Good…" He returns back to the lake. "'Cause that is so far from the truth…" He mumbles quietly to himself.

"What?"

"Nothing…"He stretches and looks over at me. "So, how did you find out that _I _didn't actually do it? Because I know for a fact you didn't hear it from me…"

"Um, Happy told me when I was asking him where you were…" I look at the ground in front of my folded legs. "…He also told me that it was Gray that did that… to my, you know, uh… yogurt…" I finish, feeling that uncomfortable feeling come back.

"Yeah, that Popsicle Dick got me good this time…" Natsu nods. "But his little 'revenge' backfired on him when Erza listened to me and all the facts I had. It was _so_ worth it, watching Gray beg for mercy from Erza as she went to dish out the same thing she did to me, on him." He begins smirking. "And from the way it sounded in there, he got done one hundred times worse than I did…"

I shudder just thinking about Natsu's punishment again… I can't even begin to fathom Gray's…  
>Which reminded me of something Happy told me about Gray.<p>

"Why did Gray get you in trouble with Erza to begin with, Natsu?"

"Oh, that? I spiked his chocolate ice cream Juvia had fixed for him with Choco-Lax chocolate." He responds.

"Well, that's pretty bad… But I wouldn't think that would've been bad enough to sic Erza on someone…"

"It wasn't that bad… Until he went to let it out, did he realize, a little too late mind you, that his whole toilet was wrapped in clear plastic wrap…"

My hands fly straight to my mouth to hold back the laughter that's trying to escape. "Oh, my…. And he?" I grimace, thinking of what happened next.

"Mm-Hmm…" Natsu nods proudly. "_Everywhere…_" He begins giggling. Until he locks eyes with me, then we both begin laughing hard.

"Okay… I take that back. That was worse than bad, Natsu. That was horrible." I state while wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Yeah. But you can't deny it, Lucy. _That_ was funny." He replies, smiling at me.

The uncomfortable atmosphere has all but dissipated. But it still doesn't feel right. I feel that there's still something that needs to be done to make this all go away. And my brain has just figured out _exactly_ what can fix this.

"Hey, Natsu."

"What?" He looks over to me.

"I really am sorry… You know that, right?"

"Yeah… I know, Lucy." He smiles slightly at me. "Don't worry. I forgive you."

"Good." I nod. "Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

"Make what up?" He questions with a raised brow.

"You know… The whole day was ruined because of me… So, I wanna make it up to you. Have you got anything in mind?"

He sits there, crossed legged, with his chin in his hand, looking at the sky. "Hmm… Well… Uhh…" He rubs the back of his neck. "I can't really think of anything… Do you have anything in mind?"

That's the sentence I was waiting for.

"Well, yeah. Actually I do." I face my body towards him. "How about I be your personal genie and grant you any three wishes you so desire?"

He turns his body the same way I did. "A genie?" He begins smiling and giggling. "You mean like when you dressed as one in Edolas that time?"

"Well, yeah… But I won't be dressing as one." I blush from embarrassment, remembering that stupid costume. "I'll just be doing any three things you wish of me… Like a real genie."

"_Any_ three things?" He asks incredulously.

"Well… Not _any_… I have limitations on certain things I'll do..."

"Okay, okay… Hold on. Let me get this straight." He puts his hands out in front of him. "So, what you're saying is that if I told you to wear a kitty mask everywhere you went for, let's say, a week… You'd do it?"

"Yes."

"Oh ho ho! Okay! Um…" He begins getting really excited, which should scare me. "Ah! What if I told you to call me 'Master Natsu' in front of our clients on jobs? You'd do that, too?"

I grimace at the thought of doing that on jobs. "Yes… That too."

"Okay… One more…" He scoots closer to me until our knees are touching and leans in slightly. "What if I told you to let me sleep in your bed? You'd let me do that, too?"

I lean back a little. "Well, Natsu, you do that anyway. All you have to do is ask for the bed and you get it while I get either the extra bed mat or the couch. You know that. But if you were wanting it for a whole week or something like that, I guess I could give it up…" I hold up one finger. "But for only one week. No longer than that, mister."

He presses his lips together and looks in another direction. "Okay… That's not exactly what I was asking…" He looks back to me. "But I think I get it now."

"Umm… Okay…" I straighten myself. "So, have you made your choices for your three wishes?"

"Almost…" He grabs his chin. "…But I think we need to up the ante a little. Instead of three wishes, I think I need five."

My eyes widen at his request. "Genies only grant three, Natsu. Not five."

He deadpans. "I think this…" He points to his bruised and slightly swollen face. "…Deserves more than three, Luce."

With guilt getting the best of me, I give in to his request. "Okay, Natsu. How about four? Will that suffice?"

"How does four wishes suck ice, Luce?"

"Ugh… Suffice, Natsu… Not 'suck ice'." I place my hand on my forehead. "What I was asking you was, 'Will those four wishes be enough?'" I translate to my ever confused partner.

"Then why didn't you just say 'enough' instead of 'suck ice' or 'pot luck rice' or whatever it was you said?"

"I don't know…" I give up. "So, will four wishes be _enough_ for you?"

He sits there and ponders for a couple of minutes. "Yep! That's fine!" He decides, smiling.

"Okay… So what will your _four_ wishes be then?"

"First one!" He holds up his index finger. "I want you to promise that you will totally listen to me from now on. So nothing like this…" He waves his arms between us. "…Will happen again. Okay?"

"Okay. I promise to totally listen to you from now on so nothing like this…" I mimic his actions. "…Will happen again. First wish granted! You have three left."

"Second one!" He holds up two fingers. "Since tomorrow's Monday, that means it's back to jobs. I want you to go on a job with just me and Happy. No Erza, Gray, Wendy, Levy…. Nobody else… Got it?"

"Got it! Second wish granted! You now have two left."

"Third one…" He sits totally still, scrunching up his face, thinking. "Ah! What's the name of that burger that I liked so much? You know, the one you made one time?"

I think back to all the dishes I made that Natsu says he likes so much and the one dish that sticks out the most is an old family recipe of mine. "You mean the 'Sweet Heart Cheeseburgers'?"

"Yeah! That one! I want you to cook _that_ for me when we get back from our job!" He excitedly demands. "Unless you're tired that day… Then you can just cook it the next day." He adds.

"I'll have to get the ingredients for it, but, okay! Third wish granted! You have one left."

"Ummm…. Fourth one… I-I don't really know what to say for that one…"

"That's okay. You still have it. When you think of what you wanna wish for, tell me." I stick my hand out for him to shake. "Okay? Deal?"

He gives me the biggest smile I think I've seen him smile in quite a while. "Deal, Luce!" He grips my hand firmly and gives a good shake. I go to release his hand until he yanks me forward into a bone-crushing hug and places his cheek on my head. "Thank you so much, Lucy!"

"U-Uh… Yeah, S-Sure… Don't mention it…" I reply into his chest as I return his hug, which seems to make him tighten his hug just a little more.

We stay in that position for a while when Natsu speaks from the top of my head. "Hey, Lucy. You know what Bisca does when Asuka or Aizik comes in with cuts or bruises on them?"

"Yeah. She calms them down and kisses their 'boo-boos' to make them feel better… Why?" I giggle, wondering why Natsu is bringing Alzack and Bisca's children up all of a sudden.

"Just curious…" He falls silent for a moment. "….Does it work?..."

"Does what work?"

"Kissing cuts and bruises to make them feel better…. Does that work?"

"Well… Yeah. I guess it does. But that mainly works on little kids. What brought that up anyway?"

"Umm… Well…" He pauses. "I was laying my cheek on your head and it started hurting a little. Then I remembered Asuka and Aizik getting Bisca to kiss their bruises when they were crying. Then after she would kiss them, they would quit crying and go off and play like nothing ever happened. That's why I brought it up…"

I giggle at his way of thinking. "Oh, Natsu, don't tell me… You want someone to kiss your 'boo-boos', too?"

After a short while of silence, I lift my head from his chest and notice his cheeks are tainted a slight pink. "Natsu?" I gain his attention. "Do you want someone to kiss your 'boo-boos'?" I ask him again, giggling.

"I never called them 'boo-boos'…" He shifts his gaze from me, cheeks darkening a shade.

I giggle a little harder at how cute he looks embarrassed. "Well, then. Do you want someone to kiss your 'owies'?"

He doesn't look at me as he nods his head ever so slightly, which makes me giggle even more. "Well! I think we can ask Bisca to kiss your 'owies' when we get back to the guild, Natsu."

"Bisca's got Asuka and Aizik. Besides, I don't want her to do it…"

"Oooh… Well, Natsu. Exactly_ who_ do you want to do it for you, then? Hmm?"

He looks down at me, cheeks still pink, and locks gazes with me. "Umm… I was hoping _you'd_ do it…"

Eyes wide and giggles aside, I just stare up incredulously at the man I'm hugging. "Uh… What now?"

"I said…" He gulps. "Would you do that for me?"

"You want me…" I say slowly to clarify what he's requesting of me. "…To kiss your cuts and bruises?"

"Mm-Hmm…" He nods. "I-I wanna know if it r-really works or not…" He adds quickly when I don't respond.

"Uh-huh…" I finally respond, leaning back a little. "Well, Natsu…. I'm not sure I'm the one who should-"

Before I can finish my sentence, Levy's voice materializes in my brain. _"From now on, I don't want you to brush off or play down or ignore anything Natsu says, does, or asks of you that makes you feel a little uncomfortable or, in his words, 'weird'. Got it?"_

I mentally groan as I remember the promise I made to her earlier today. "….Levy…." I quietly grumble.

"Levy? No…" Natsu shakes his head. "She's got Gajeel. And I don't want the same lips that touches Metal-Head touching me…" He shudders in disgust.

I look back at him, my promise reverberating through my brain, forcing me to go through with it. "Okay, Natsu." He raises his brows at me. "W-Where do you want me to start?"

"Well… I got a couple of goose eggs up here." He points to the top of his head.

"Okay…" I raise myself up on my knees so that I'm slightly taller than he is. "Where?"

"Somewhere in this area…" He generalizes by waving his finger in one big circle.

"I'll find them… Hold on…" I tilt his head down slightly and begin combing my fingers through his short, spiky locks until I hit a big bump on his head. "Found one." I lean down lightly press my lips to the spot I found. "There. How's that?" I ask, feeling my face warm up every second I'm up here.

"A l-little better… Um… I think there's a couple more up there."

I start raking through his hair again when I hear him hiss in pain. "I think I found another one, don't you?" This one's a little closer to his head than the first one, which results in Natsu's hair tickling my nose as I go for it. I continue my methods until I've found (and kissed…) all of them…

I sit back down on my folded legs, looking anywhere else but his face. "There. All done. How's that feel now?"

"…A lot better, actually…" He answers after exhaling. I shift to get up but he grabs my arm, keeping me down on the same level. "Um… Could you do the rest?"

I look up and realize by 'the rest' he means the ones on his face. I'm not sure how much more blush my cheeks can hold at this point. The top of his head was bad enough, but now his face… I audibly gulp. "S-Sure…"  
>Maybe my face won't explode…<p>

I cup his face in my hands and begin to lean in when Natsu's big, _open_, eyes keep me from going further. "Natsu, could you please close your eyes?" I request, which he responds with the raising of a brow. "It feels kinda awkward to do this and have you watching me…"

He rolls his eyes before he closes them. "There. How's that?" He mimics me.

"…Better…" I reply before leaning in to the worst spot on his forehead. Like with the ones on top of his head, I lightly press my lips on it, earning a sharp inhale from Natsu. Leaning back to look at him, I ask, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…" He answers in a strained voice. "…Just keep going…"

Shrugging my shoulders at his weirdness, I aim for the next spot on his left eyebrow, which triggers a kind of whimper from him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Mm-Hmm." He nods quickly.

"If this hurts too badly, I can stop, you know…" I suggest, hoping he'd agree with me.

"No. I'm good. It hurts a little but then it's okay." He answers with his eyes still closed.

"Alright…" I aim for the spot he mentioned was hurting earlier, his right cheek. It was a big bruise with a horrible shade of black and blue on it. It probably felt worse than it looked. Being very careful, I place another light kiss on the broad, swollen cheek. Natsu lets out a contented sigh.

I then target his other side's cheekbone and the left side of his jaw. Rising from his jaw, I'm caught by two big eyes, very close to my own, staring at me. His gaze has me locked, I can't move away. He leans his forehead on mine.

"H-H-How do you f-feel now, N-Natsu?" I stutter uncontrollably.

He chuckles lightly and closes his eyes. "…A lot better, thanks…" He begins leaning in closer.

A multitude of little flashing lights catches my attention over the lake. I turn my head and release my hold on Natsu's face. "Oh, hey, look! The fireflies are coming out now, Natsu!"

His hold on me drops as he hangs his head low. "Oh, really? Well, ain't that splendid…"

I thank the little fire bugs over and over, in my head, for coming out when they did. That scenario was getting a little too weird for me.

Watching them twinkle and flash in the dusk light, with the lake acting as a giant mirror, really creates a magnificent, mesmerizing show.

"Wait a minute…" Natsu's head snaps back up. "…Did you just say 'fireflies'?"

"Yeah. Look." I point over the lake. "Aren't they amazing?"

He focuses on the bugs for a good while when he jumps up all of a sudden and pulls me up with him, smiling. "It's getting late, Luce. Lemme walk you home!" He begins running, dragging me behind him.

We arrive at my front door in a matter of, what seems like, seconds. "Natsu… You… Didn't… _Walk_ me… Home…" I pant out. "You…. _Ran_… Me home…." I finally wheeze out.

"Well, at least you're here before it got totally dark, right?" He smiles, not even breaking a sweat.

"Yeah… I guess… So…" I manage to get out without gasping for air.

"Hey, Luce." He walks closer to me. "When you get in there, the first thing I want you to do is get all your bags and clothes ready for tomorrow, okay? We got a job to go on, remember?"

"Of course I remember! And why should I do that first? I have other, more important, things to do first. Like write the required amount of chapters for my side job before the deadline, and…" I wipe the gross sweat off my forehead. "…Take a _really good_ shower."

"Because you never know when we may leave. We may be late getting off and I wouldn't want you dragging behind and making us even later."

"Keep on with that…" I glare at the smiling dragon slayer. "…And I won't even sit in the same booth with you on _any_ train we may have to go on. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." He waves his hand in dismissal at me. "I just really want you to be prepared is all, okay?"

"Okay." I place my hand on the doorknob. "Well, I guess I'll be heading in now. Got a lot of stuff to do before I can even think of getting in the bed. Preparing my bags being first on my list of many things. Oh, and thanks for 'running' me home." I laugh.

"No Prob! I'm gonna head to the guild and pick up Happy so he can get ready for tomorrow, too. Oh, and thank you for earlier…" He leans in quickly and pecks my left cheek before running off towards the guild and yelling over his shoulder. "See ya, Luce! Remember! Be Ready!"

"Uh-huh… Sure…" I dazedly reply while touching the spot he just kissed. I walk in my home and shut my door. I bite my bottom lip to keep a huge smile from breaking free. Why did one, simple, little 'Thank You' kiss on the cheek from my best friend make me wanna smile so badly? Shaking my head to get my thoughts straight, I go through my itinerary of bedtime rituals, saving the much needed shower for last.

Feeling it's already way past my bedtime, I trudge to my bedroom and check the time on my clock just to confirm my suspicions. I look to where it usually is on my nightstand, to see it not there anymore. I groan as I recall exactly what I did to it earlier that morning. Feeling the need to clean it up before bed, I head towards the wall where I threw it, only to find it not there anymore. I walk around, looking to see if I may have just been confused as to which wall I threw it at. Walking by my desk, I notice that my trash can in fuller than usual. I look in and find… My missing, broken alarm clock.

"So he not only cleaned my kitchen…" I stare into the trash. "He also cleaned up that stupid alarm clock I broke." I shake my head as I turn off the lights and climb into bed.

"Oh, Natsu…" I mumble as I prepare for Dream Land. "…Just what are you up to?" I yawn as I slip into a deep sleep, with the same dream accompanying me. Only…. There's been a few details added to the dream now…

Why?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>

** So? What did you guys think of this chapter? **

**I would REALLY love it if you guys would please Review this and tell me what _YOUR_ favorite parts were. **

**Also, be sure to Favorite and Follow this story because there are big things planned for it. So expect a lot more chapters like this. (I'm not promising that every chapter I write will be over 12,000 words like this one... 12,456 words to be exact...) But the content of each chapter should hold up to expectations.**

**Thank you guys so much for reading my story and my most recent chapter. **

**I wanna thank Starfiresusan18 for helping me with Gray and Lucy's conversation. Also, for being my friend. :)  
>I also wanna thank SnowFairyPrincess for being my little Fairy Tail Manga Updater (Because she is like the Ultimate Fairy Tail Fan. LOL) and for being my friend, too! :)<strong>

**Once again, Favorite, Follow, and Review this story, please. I really love reading your reviews. I will also, if I catch them when they're posted, reply back to you when you review.**

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**DragonFairy93**


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